Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by Shadman:

I like the picture someone supplied for the brewery page..now that's a craft brewer..looks like someone's barn..

Pours a cloudy dark burnt orange, a lot lighter in colour than most smoked beers. lot's of head formation so pour aggressively at your own risk.

Almost has the aroma of smoked fish, but without a whole lot of fishiness. I know that doesn't make sense, but that's what I'm picking up. Almost a mossy smell as well that may be from the juniper twigs.

Nice..smoke doesn't overwelm the other ingredients until the finish. Slightly toasted malts, tea-like herbalness from the hops. ABV makes itself known soon after, but only in a fleeting moment. Finishes quite dry, slightly smokey, and with just a hint of juniper twang.

Smooth, get's a touch astringent toward the late-middle.

Very good smoked beer...too bad I'd have to take out a 2nd mortgage to drink Haandbryggeriet's product on a regular basis.

More User Reviews:

I have had a few Haand beers and came away impressed and have wanted to try this for awhile.Poured into a 22oz nonic a slight hazed russett brown with a huge blooming light tan head that went over the side even with a gentle pour,aromas were of hard wood smoke,juniper,and cherry,almost like burning cherrywood.Smooth mothfeel, it glides down easy.Flavors as expected have some real smoke attributes along with almost a phenolic-like clove spice to it,there is a sweet fruit element as well.A nice drinkin brew,I like smokey beers and this has the smoke and a little more to offer,quite good.

Apparently a re-creation of a traditional Norwegian smoked ale, brewed with smoked malt, Munich malt, crystal and chocolate malts, and spiced with juniper twigs and berries--sounds a bit like Finnish Sahti.

Pours quick and foamy, so be gentle. Hazy tawny color with a beige foam head. Aroma is yeasty, smoky and meaty with toasted wood and soft fruitiness. A little tart up front, with a smoked tanginess. Forest fruits beneath, dried apple and earth. Biscuity here and there. Charcoal, dusty-malt husk and ash toward the finish (which is dry and lingers with much smoke and wood).

The addition of juniper twigs and berries is rather subtle, which is probably a good thing as one can get carried away with junipers. Regardless, this beer is not for non-smoke ale lovers. This is all that and a bag of smoldering embers. That said, this is a "split a bottle with a friend" beer as it's rather hard to finish an entire one, and we're smoked beer lovers.

Pours into a Tripel Karmeliet chalice an extremely hazy opaque dark brown with three fingers of khaki foam on top that slowly falls. Aromas of smoked malt upfront reminiscent of a dying campfire. The meaty quality is there along with an underlying yeast and juniper spiciness. Very earthy overall.

First sip is robust smoky malts with toasted caramel and cocoa accents. Earthy yeast tones meet up with spicy juniper berry and pine flavors. Mellow sweetness throughout that ends with a spicy finish. Tastes authentic and has an old world feel to it. Tasty smoked ale.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and crisp. Solid spritzy carbonation. Goes down easy. Overall, I found this to be an interesting, tasty brew that I would have again!

This was a very nice beer, one I would want to drink again. It was a pretty red/brown color with a thick tan head. The head proved to be very sticky and retained well. I thought the aroma was a little muted. It had a smoky/peaty aroma with a whiff of gin. Taste-wise, the juniper berries were right up front, a litttle sharp, with the smokeiness coming in later. Finally a little bit of hops at the end. Fairly dry beer, but felt good. Ready for more.

Bottle pours a cloudy copper body with a fluffy beige head that subsides into spiderweb lacing. Lovely aroma has notes of caramel, funky juniper berry, and subtle campfire smokiness. Medium body and carbonation. Taste is complex and quite interesting. Smoke is more evident in the taste than the aroma, lending an outdoor smokiness. Assertive bitterness seems to derive from the hops profile. Caramel malt sweetness is easily apparent though understated. The juniper berries add an odd earthy herbal character, much like a good gin. Mild roasty notes add to the complexity. A very interesting and worthwhile experience that is also an enjoyable sipper.

Drinkability: I like the mix of of the smoke and sweet florals. I wish the malt here was a tad less pale and the florals were a bit more present. This is an interesting beer, worth picking up. Not sure if I would get this again, but certainly worth the try.

First off, I love smoked beers, especially those like the Aecht Schlerenka variety where the smoke is strong. Pours dark brown with nice red edges. Thick head that last the whole way down. Not much lacing. Beautiful campfire aroma. Great mix of wood with the juniper showing through. Oily mouthfeel with enough carbonation to smooth it out. Long, earthy finish. The taste is spectacular. Wood, smoke, and bacon. The malt is rich and hearty, but maintains a pleasant dry quality. Good mix with the chocolate malt gives a bit of sweetness, but not too much to overtake the smokiness. I love this beer. If you're going to go smoked, go the whole way.

My second time trying a bottle of this brew...and still I like it quite a lot. This one pours a deep red color with a small, but long-lasting head. It's actually fairly clear in color, but if you swirl the sediment in the bottom of the bottle (and add it to your glass), it becomes a bit cloudy like a hefeweizen.

The aroma is a mixture of smokiness and mild tart/sweetness...and maybe a bit of phenolic (weizen?) peculiarity as well. The flavor seems to hit the tongue with smokiness first, followed by some fruity/tart flavor...maybe that's the juniper? The smokiness reminds me quite a bit of the best Bamberg brews, but the rauch character isn't as omnipresent as the Schlenkerla brews, possibly not as much as the Spezial brews either. There's a bit of tartness in the flavor which I've had in some other smoked brews. I'm not sure if it's a result of the smoked malt or possibly the yeast, but whatever it is...I like it. Whatever the case, I think this brew is catered more toward those who like a somewhat heavy smoke flavor in their beer. If that sounds like "you", then give this one a try!

Tastes similar to how it smells although the flavors don't pop quite as much as the smell intimated. Smoked malt flavors kick things off and sweeten a bit midway through the sip. A light bitterness comes in shortly thereafter with slight wood-y notes and carries through to a mildly bitter and crisp ending.

Drinkability is also good. I didn't have a probem finishing my glass and could have another.

Overall this smoked beer ranks right up there with the best from Schlenkerla and the juniper adds just a hint of earthiness that's well served here. If you're a fan of smoked beers then this one is well worth a shot.

A- This beer pours a thick antique white head that takes up the full glass. Soon it slowly melts into a deep brown body with an amber glow and strong waves of micro bubbles glide past the sides of the glass. The head last and last through the beer.

S- The light yeasty perfume note gives way to a roasted malt note with a soft marshmallow hint to it and a soft smoky note that increases as the beer warms.

T- The taste of soft smoky dark roasted malt has nutty flavors and some caramel malt notes. There is a nice taste of fresh cream that fades to a spicy hop finish with a slight bay leaf quality to it and a faint juniper berry note. There is a soft band-aid note at the finish but it is pleasantly smoky and not over the top.

M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a soft alcohol heat that adds a nice warmth to the malt.

D- This beer has a nice balance of smoky dark malts and hops with some nice support from a fragrant yeast strain.

500ml bottle. The label depicts a nice story about Norwegian farms formerly being required to make their own beer. A local ordinance that I could totally get behind.

This beer pours a cloudy, sparsely sediment-strewn dark copper hue, with two fat fingers of tight fizzy off-white head, which settles soon enough, leaving a few ambitious streaks of lace around the glass as it lazily sinks away.

It smells of heftily smoked, meaty dark caramel malt, mildly fruity wild berries, and some equally dense earthy spiciness. The taste is like a barely restrained Islay malt - woody, peaty, seafaring - a mite bit lesser in intensity, yes, but better for it, for this otherwise straight-up Speyside fan, with a bit of understated sweet black fruitiness. There are softer flavours about, thankfully, with some tart fruitiness and earthy hops showing up amongst that pungent woody character.

The carbonation is on the soft side, the body medium weight, and generally smooth under that obsequious, yet thankfully thin blanket of acrid smoke. It finishes off-dry, the malt still pushing through the charred wood, with booze and hops doing their damnedest to make it seem otherwise.

Quite a challenging, and yet still well-made smoked ale - the relatively laid-back nature is refreshing, to a point, and this would likely be a perfect pairing for any kind of food that has itself seen fire, particularly in any sort of grungy campsite.

Norwegian Wood is a redish amber color with good clarity seen on the pour. Head is thick at first but settles quickly to a skim layer.

Aroma is really pleasant but is surprisingly not smokey. It has more of an orchard fruit and mellow sweetness than expected.

Flavor is more intense than the aroma would lead you to believe. It still manages to be balanced with bitterness from the juniper and sweetness from the caramel malts. The smoked malts are well judged so you can tell it's there but it doesn't dominate the palate.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly over carbonated for my tastes.

Overall a really nice beer with a good story of the history behind the style.

Expensive at $7.99 a bottle, but the novelty/promise of a Norwegian smoked beer with a classy label got me. Pours a muddy deep brown, with a thin light-tan head made of very small bubbles. Small ribbons of lace appear as the beer disappears.

Roasted grains and a musty presence in the aroma remind of a Scotch ale, but the woody/smoke element gives a unique slant to this beer.

Flavor is very much smoke, a little peat, more smoke, wood, and smoke. I suppose it would pair well with bacon. That's right, pair it with bacon. Apparently this is brewed with juniper, but you have to really use your imagination to sense it amidst the smoke haze. It's not as robust as expected, partly due to the light, fizzy mouthfeel. Finish has an astringency that somewhat reminds of soap.

This is good and interesting, but not great and legendary. I expected a bolder, more complex character; has its problems along with its positive attributes. Looking forward to their Russian Imperial Stout.

The wood and smoke is there in the tasting. That, and the juniper berries linger on in the aftertaste.Smooth drinker, with he smoked malt, leaving the bitterness for the very end. Pours cocoish colour with constant white head. Wood fire oven aroma. Worth a try for smoke fans.

Poured from a 500mL bottle into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass. Brewed in November, 2007 - best before November, 2009.

Liquid is cordovan with falu red highlights. Very dark, but good clarity. A short-lived tan head is quick to dissipate leaving behind a very thin ring sustained only by the high carbonation.

Aroma is of roasted malt, and savory wood smoke, and a hint of brine or wildflowers. Subtle.

The flavor reminds me of a good dark lager, with toasted black bread and cleansing hop tartness. Coriander and juniper berries are present as well, but play a supporting role to the lightly smoked malt centerpiece. The finish is long and complex with roasted rye, wheat, and malt notes along with crisp botanical spice, a woodsy sweetness hinting at anise. Flavors intensify and become richer and more stratified as the liquid warms.

The mild astringency of the malt and smoke combined with the benign warming from the alcohol leave the impression of a freshly extinguished fire in your mouth. The juniper and hops dance around the edges thanks to the effervesence of this light-bodied brew.

A unique, mouth-watering concoction that would pair well with properly prepared salt-cod, rakfisk, wild game, and wild greens.

Poured from the 500ml bottle into a pint glass. Body is somewhere between burnt orange and dark brown, topped by a small khaki-colored head that retains quite well and leaves a bit of lacing on the glass. Aroma of alder-smoked malt, although not as heavy on the smoke as some other smoked beers. Palate is well-rounded, smoky malt forming a nice base but not shutting out all other flavors. A light fruity character from the mellow hops comes through mid-palate, along with a mild malty sweetness. Body is full but not too thick or sticky. Goes down fairly easy for such a strong, uniquely flavored beer. Definitely a curiosity, but in a good way. Try it for yourself.